Attorneys' Questions and Children's Responses Referring to the Nature of Sexual Touch in Child Sexual Abuse Trials

Child Witnesses Productively Respond to "How" Questions About Evaluations but Struggle With Other "How" Questions

Child interviewers are often advised to avoid asking "How" questions, particularly with young children. However, children tend to answer "How" evaluative questions productively (e.g., "How did you feel?"). "How" evaluative questions are phrased as a "How" followed by an auxiliary verb (e.g., "did" or "was"), but so are "How" questions requesting information about method or manner (e.g., "How did he touch you?"), and "How" method/manner questions might be more difficult for children to answer. We examined 458 5- to 17-year-old children questioned about sexual abuse, identified 2485 "How" questions with an auxiliary verb, and classified them as "How" evaluative (n = 886) or "How" method/manner (n = 1599). Across age, children gave more productive answers to "How" evaluative questions than "How" method/manner questions. Although even young children responded appropriately to "How" method/manner questions over 80% of the time, specific types of "How" method/manner questions were particularly difficult, including questions regarding clothing, body positioning, and the nature of touch. Children's difficulties lie in specific combinations of "How" questions and topics, rather than "How" questions in general.

Commentary: The Legal System Response to Child Maltreatment

Legal actions are perhaps the most powerful responses to child maltreatment. Criminal and child protection investigation and forensic interviewing can provide the evidence needed to support a child victim's disclosure. Prosecution of child maltreatment can hold perpetrators accountable. Juvenile and family court actions can provide for children's safety and oversee their care in state custody and journey to a permanent home. This commentary introduces readers to a special issue of the journal Child Maltreatment that focuses on the legal system response to child abuse and neglect. We provide an overview of the issue's 11 research articles and additional commentary. These works provide crucial new knowledge on gaining information from child victims involved in the legal system, on the law enforcement and prosecution response to child maltreatment, and on the legal framework supporting child protection.